At the job fair

Job-hunter: Hello, I’m Alice Davidson.

Company representative: Nice to meet you, Ms. Davidson. Do you know anything about our company?

Job-hunter: Surely. Your company has been in the world market since 1991 and it has a good reputation in our country as well as abroad.

Company representative: That’s true. What position are you applying for?

Job-hunter: I’ve got a Bachelor’s degree in Law.

Company representative: I see. Do you have any work experience?

Job-hunter: No, but I’m ready to assist on a voluntary basis to get some experience and improve my skills.

Company representative: Could you mention your strengths, please?

Job-hunter: I’m responsible and neat (исполнительный).

Company representative: OK. And weaknesses?

Job-hunter: Oh! May be stubborn at times.

Company representative: Sometimes it can be a positive feature! Have you any questions?

Job-hunter: No, but I would be the happiest person if I work for your company.

Company representative: Leave your resume and we’ll contact you in a week.

Job-hunter: Thanks. Good bye.

Company representative: It was nice to meet you. Bye.

Exercise 7 Imagine that one of your friends is looking for a job.

What would you recommend him or her? Don't forget to use speech patterns:

I think you should..; You'd better..; To my mind..; As a matter of fact..; It is necessary... (You can use the given tips).

1. Write a good resume.

2. Dress officially.

3. Get information about the companies you are applying to.

4. Be ready to speak about your strengths and weaknesses.

5. Think of a few questions for the person you are talking to at the career fair. Here are some ideas to get you started. 

• Where are you from?  Where did you go to college? (People love talking about themselves!)

• How did you get started at this company?

• What’s your favorite thing about this company?

• What types of entry-level candidates are you looking for?

6. Give short positive answers.

Exercise 8 Be ready to speak up about the process of job seeking:

• job sources;

• Volunteer work;

• job fairs;

• personal campaign.

UNIT 2

Exercise 1 Read the article and try to guess the meaning of the words print in italics. Consult your dictionary if necessary.

Applying for a job

There was time when job seekers could simply visit a potential employer and be interviewed, but that time has long since passed. In this complex world where distance, time, and sheer numbers discour­age personal involvement, the resume and letter of application have become the most essential ingredient in both the job search and hiring process.

Due to rapid development of business activities and creation of joint stock companies in our country, there increases the necessity of knowing how to make these documents in English, as the English language has become the language of business communication.

A strong resume is one of your best bets for getting a potential employer's attention. The success of your job campaign is completely dependent on the effectiveness of your resume. A good resume results in interviews; an inferior one is simply discarded.

Resume is a summary of ID data, objectives of an applicant, education, employment, professional skills and occupations. It must have a page size. The main idea of any resume is to create a favorable impression on a potential employer. As such, your resume must represent you in the clearest, most forceful manner.

Nowadays employers receive hundreds of resumes each day. If a resume is more than two pages long, it will be immediately rejected, as will those that appear cluttered and don't invite easy reading. Spelling or grammatical mistakes are never tolerat­ed. So your resume must show immediately that you have the ability to organize information and present it in a clear, concise manner. You must instantly communicate to the reader that you know where you are going with your career, and that you have just the right background to make you a valuable staff addition.

Curriculum Vitae differs from resume by its size and higher position that is applied for.

Exercise 2 Match the English words and word-combinations with their Ukrainian equivalents. Make up sentences with these words.

job seeker	особисті дані, інформація
sheer numbers	наймання
to discourage	миттєво
hiring	людина, яка шукає роботу
due to	цінний
bet	негайно
inferior	гірший (за якістю)
to discard	підґрунтя, підготовка, освіта
ID data	перевантажений неорганізованою інформацією, плутаний
immediately	велика (абсолютна) кількість
to reject	стисла біографія
clutter(ed)	ставка, умова в парі
concise	супроводжувальний лист
instantly	заважати, відбивати бажання
background	поповнення штату
valuable	стислий
staff addition	відкидати
CV (curriculum vitae)	відхиляти
letter of application	завдяки
objectives	переконливий
skills	справляти враження
forceful	терпіти, ставитись толерантно
to create an impression	сприятливий, прихильний
favorable	цілі
to tolerate	навички
applicant	претендент

Exercise 3 Answer the questions.

1. What was the process of job seeking in the past?

2. What are essential ingredients in both the job search and hiring process?

3. Why does the necessity to know English increase?

4. What language is the language of business communication?

5. Why is a strong resume needed?

6. What are the results of a good / inferior resume?

7. What is a resume?

8. What is the main idea of a resume?

9. Why is it so important to know how to make a resume?

10. Are spelling or grammatical mistakes tolerated?

11. What must a resume show to a potential employer?

12. What is CV and how it differs from Resume?

Exercise 4 Put questions to get such answers.

1. Job seekers could simply visit a potential employer and be interviewed.

2. Due to rapid development of business activities there increases the necessity of knowing how to make documents in English.

3. The resume has become the most essential ingredient in the job search.

4. The success of your job campaign is completely dependent on the effectiveness of your resume.

5. Your resume must represent you in the clearest, most forceful manner.

6. Nowadays employers receive hundreds of resumes each day.

7. It will be immediately rejected.

8. Your resume must show that you have the ability to organize information.

9. You should have the right background to make you a valuable staff addition.

Exercise 5 Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Раніше шукачі роботи відвідували потенційного працедавця і з ними проводили співбесіду.

2. Резюме і супроводжувальний лист є найбільш важливою складовою процесу пошуку роботи та прийняття на роботу.

3. Англійська є мовою ділового спілкування.

4. Сильне резюме може привернути увагу потенційного працедавця.

5. Резюме – це стислий виклад ваших особистих даних, інформації про освіту, (попередню) роботу, професійні навички.

6. Головна ідея резюме – створити прихильне враження на потенційного працедавця.

Exercise 6 Be ready to speak about the following:

• Job seeking in past and at present.

• Business activities and communication nowadays.

• What is a resume?

• A strong resume.

• An inferior resume.

Exercise 7 Do you know how to write a winning resume? Read the information below and be ready to make a resume of your own.